Scallop, Farro, and Arugula Salad with a Lemon Pepper Dressing

Summer cooking in my house typically consists of grilling various marinated meats as well as salads that combine as many veggies, grains and beans that I can fit into a bowl. Recently, a friend suggested that I try farro, as I love both quinoa and barley, and boy was she right. I am now obsessed with this ancient grain! It is nutty, has a nice bite, and leftovers holds up well overnight.

Over the last few weeks I’d been searching for good farro recipes and was excited when this recipe for a lemony arugula salad topped with farro and sea scallops popped up in my feed. Most of the ingredients are staples in my weekly shop, and the prep required was quick and simple making this a perfect summer dish.

The original recipe called for sea scallops, but our store was out of them so we opted for bay scallops instead. I also added some sauteed asparagus which rounded out the meal nicely.

What other recipes do you have that I can try with farro? I’m hooked!

Ingredients:

1 cup farro – rinsed

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 medium garlic cloves – diced

1/4 cup olive oil

Arugula

1/2 pound bay scallops

4-6 stalks of asparagus – washed and chopped

Steps and Notes:

Bring one cup of water to a boil. Add the farro and a hefty pinch of salt. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 25 minutes being sure to stir occasionally.

For the dressing, combine the salt, lemon zest, lemon juice, and black pepper into a bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of the oil by slowly pouring it in and whisking continuously.

Let the dressing sit for 15 minutes at room temperature

Clean the scallops by removing the small muscle (called the catch) from the side. And dry them with a paper towel.

Season the scallops with salt and ground pepper.

Before cooking the scallops, and once the farro is cooked, drain and rinse it with cool water. Then, quickly re-whisk the dressing and add to the farro.

Letting this marinade a bit brings out the lemony, garlicky, peppery goodness.

In a hot frying pan add a bit of olive oil, then sear the scallops for about 2 minutes per side.

Remove the scallops and saute the asparagus in the same pan.

Toss the arugula and farro in a large bowl and top each dish with scallops and asparagus.